Warriors have day to remember at White House

President Barack Obama holds up Golden State Warrior basketball jersey given to him by team members during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016, where he honored the 2015 NBA Champions. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) less

President Barack Obama holds up Golden State Warrior basketball jersey given to him by team members during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016, where he honored ... more

Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, Associated Press

Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, Associated Press

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President Barack Obama holds up Golden State Warrior basketball jersey given to him by team members during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016, where he honored the 2015 NBA Champions. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) less

President Barack Obama holds up Golden State Warrior basketball jersey given to him by team members during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Feb. 4, 2016, where he honored ... more

Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, Associated Press

Warriors have day to remember at White House

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WASHINGTON — President Obama strolled to the podium in the East Room on Thursday afternoon and said he was disappointed that Riley Curry hadn’t joined the Warriors on their championship tour of the White House.

With that, Obama set the tenor of a ceremony filled with blissful reflection on the Warriors’ 2015 title run — including breakout star Riley, the 3-year-old daughter of Stephen Curry — and sprinkled with plenty of playful ribbing along the way.

“It is rare to be in the presence of guys from the greatest team in NBA history,” Obama said, “so we’re pretty lucky today, because we’ve got one of those players in the house: Steve Kerr, from the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls.”

The Warriors are 45-4, one game ahead of the pace set by those Bulls, who went on to win an NBA single-season record 72 games. Now the Warriors’ head coach, Kerr averaged 8.4 points on 51.5 percent shooting on that team — Obama’s favorite.

He also presented the 44th president with a No. 44 Warriors jersey, saying: “Our general manager, Bob Myers … mentioned to me that you’re going to be a free agent at the end of this year. We don’t know if you have anything lined up yet, but…”

In between Obama’s opening remark and his acceptance of the jersey, he showed great knowledge of the Warriors. He called straitlaced Harrison Barnes “The Senator” and empathized with assistant coach Luke Walton, who was awarded zero official wins during his interim stint while Kerr recovered from a spinal fluid leak.

“Luke Walton stepped up and led the team to a ridiculous 39-4 record,” Obama said. “You defied the cynics, you accomplished big things, you racked up a great record, and you don’t get enough credit. I can’t imagine how that feels.”

Obama said Stephen Curry was “clowning” Wednesday night, when he scored 51 against the Wizards and mimicked Curry’s spinning and hopping dance of celebration just long enough to jokingly tell the superstar: “Just settle down.”

The president said Klay Thompson’s jumper is actually prettier than Curry’s shot, but that didn’t pardon Thompson from being the butt of a joke.

“Now, let’s face it, ‘beautiful’ was not how folks described the Warriors for many years,” Obama said. “I may be one of the few who are old enough to remember the last time they were good. Back in the middle of the ’70s was the last time they won a championship, and I was 10 years old. The franchise, it had some good teams and some great players, but it had been struggling.

“One player forgot that there was even a team in Oakland. … That was Klay Thompson, by the way.”

But it wasn’t all wisecracks and crack-ups. Obama talked about the Warriors’ players who sacrificed minutes and statistics for the betterment of the team and how beautiful it is to watch the ball movement on offense and the players seemingly moving as one on defense.

Green, Iguodala, Thompson and Shaun Livingston were pulled away from the team’s 45-minute tour of the White House on Thursday morning for a special meet-and-greet with Obama in the Oval Office.

They chatted for about 10 minutes, including Obama telling Green, who has 11 technical fouls, to watch his mouth.

“Anybody can take a tour of the White House, but when you’re doing it with President Obama, it symbolizes that you’re a champion,” Green said. “It’s a surreal feeling and a great day. Hopefully, we can come back here again.

Already expected to be the darlings of the All-Star Game on Feb. 14, the Warriors might also demand plenty of the spotlight a night earlier in Toronto.

Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green will each be part of All-Star Saturday night, with Curry and Thompson in the three-point competition and Green among those adding a new twist to the skills challenge.

Green is joined by frontcourt players DeMarcus Cousins (Sacramento), Anthony Davis (New Orleans) and Karl-Anthony Towns (Minnesota) in the skills challenge, which is typically played out among guards. Houston’s Patrick Beverley, the Lakers’ Jordan Clarkson, Portland’s C.J. McCollum and Boston’s Isaiah Thomas will also be in the challenge.